Hello everybody,in this article we are going to share with you information about
one of the most important ancient Coptic churches and its the church of Abu Serga
so lets start the tour
With
the importance of this church
1-The church has great historical importance, since it is believed to have been built on the spot or the crypt where the Holy Family rested in this crypt during their journey in Egypt.
2- Inside the church also was found the oldest wooden altar.
3-It is also considered a place of election of many patriarchs of the Coptic Church from the 8th to the 9th century beginning with Patriarch Isaac (681-692).
4-it is the Episcopal church of Cairo, Many bishops were consecrated in the Church until the reign of Patriarch Christodulus (1047-1077).
as we sow this church was a witness on many important events in the Coptic church
And now lets talk about
The Location of the church
The church is located within the Roman fortress of Babylon in old Cairo district just next to the church of Saint Barbara and you can reach it by taking the underground trains till the station of Mar-gerges
Where you will find many ancient churches like the hanging church ,saint Barbara, monastery of Margerges and our church of abu serga . and more
So what about
Name of the church:
The church is known as the church of saint Serguis and Bacchus or the church of Abu Serga , because this church was built in their commemoration.
Who are saint Serguis and Bacchus:
They were soldier-saints in the roman army, they refused to make offering to the pagan roman gods, so the roman started a long series of torture, until they were beheaded, in 303 in Syria by the roman emperor Maximanus so they were considered martyrs and the church held their names.
the church through the ages
The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (Abu Serga) dates back to the 4th century so it is considered the oldest Christian church to be survived in Cairo.
It was burned during the fire of Fustat during the reign of Marwan II around 750. It was then restored during the 8th century.
The church was rebuilt and restored constantly since medieval times. It was recently restored by the supreme council of antiquities which made a restoration in the crypt.
The Architectural Design of the Church:
The church follows in its building the basilican shape. It composed of a central nave flanked by two aisles with a western return aisle (narthex), tripartite sanctuary
The façade of the church is built from burned brick
Interior of the church:
when we enter the church we will find out that
the church contains central nave which is flanked by two aisles with a western return aisle (narthex), the nave is separated from the side asles by two rows of six columns Eleven of these unique columns, ornamented with faint painted decorations of probably apostles or saints, are marble, while one is of red granite.
The 12th columns here referring to the twelve apostles.
The ceiling of the nave is gamalon or gable (vaulted) in shape while the ceiling of the sided aisles is flat in shape.
The original pulpit was replaced by a copy of the ambon (a pulpit) in the church of Saint Barbara. The original pulpit was made of wood, now it is in the Coptic museum, the recent pulpit is made out of marble.
There was probably a choir, a transverse room preceding the sanctuary, in front of the sanctuary but which no longer exists.
The sanctuary iconostasis, a screen separating the sanctuary from the rest of the church on which icons are usually displayed, is a beautiful work of art which probably dates to the 12th or 13th century.
It is made of wood, inlaid with ivory and ebony, and decorated with fine arabesque designs.
At the Eastern end there is a tripartite sanctuary that
Within the sanctuary is an altar surmounted by a wooden canopy supported by four pillars. On the east wall of the sanctuary rises a fine, semi-circular tribune with seven steps.
Also,the oldest wooden altar in Egypt was found in the church, but it is now in the Coptic Museum. The apse is encrusted with strips of marble and decorated with mosaics.
There are some wooden panels within the church that are of earlier date, and depict fine scenes of saints on horseback, the Nativity and the Last Supper. There are a number of other old icons that date, perhaps, to the 17th century.
They show various scenes depicting the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary and some of the saints.
The Crypt of the Church
This crypt contains the remains of the original church where it is said that the Holy Family stayed during the flight to Egypt. It measures 6 meters long, by 5 meters wide and is 2.5 meters high. Within its north, south and east walls are niches.
Two rows of columns were added to form a nave with two aisles.
Each rows consists of 5 columns
Originally this crypt, which is under the modern sanctuary, was itself the sanctuary of the church, but became the crypt after the larger church was built Unfortunately, this area of the church has sometimes been inaccessible due to the presence of subterranean water.
Here we finish our first tour in church of Abu Serga and We Hope you Enoy it
Also we welcome your comments and suggestions and wait for the next tour on next Week 4:00 pm( Cairo time zone +2)
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Coptic Church, The Church of Abu Serga at old cairo
the importance of church of abu serga, Location of the church of abu serga, church of Abu Serga, the church through the ages.the cyrpt where the holy family stayed during its flight to egypt
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